April 24, 2020

Hello, members!
It has been a few months since I have written a newsletter, so I am back at it, again. Earlier in the year, my schedule got overwhelming with the various commitments I had. I continue to be busy since my husband and I are now working on major house projects as we prepare for the arrival of my daughter and her family in June since they will be living with us on a full-time basis. I am so excited!

I will note recent activitiesI have participated in. With that said, the newsletter is long.

The National Federation of Republican Women (“NFRW”) cancelled their Spring Board of Directors conference (which was supposed to be held in Virginia) and had a Zoom meeting instead. The new NFRW officers got sworn in; the budget was passed; and two Resolutions congratulating Trump on his accomplishments and Commending President Trump and Vice-President Pence on their Response to COVID-19 were also adopted. Those resolutions are posted on our Hawaii Federation of Republican Women (“HFRW”) website.

The HFRW now belongs to Region 2 of the NFRW. The states include Hawaii, Nevada, California, Arizona, and Utah, and our Regional Director is Vanessa LaFranco, Secretary of the NFRW, and she lives in New Jersey. We had a meeting, and we were told that Ms. Schockett, President of the NFRW, purchased Zoom licenses for the different regions, so if we decide to have Zoom meetings, there will be a sign-up calendar. We also spoke about some of the awards clubs can get involved in. There are two I think, and I hope, our members may be interested in participating:

1. The Campaign Volunteer Awards are presented to states that demonstrate excellence in donating volunteer time to the benefit of the Republican Party, Republican candidates, or the NFRW.
2. The Caring for America Awards are presented to states and clubs that demonstrate excellence in community service and outreach.

I will officially roll out the Awards Program next month because I know you are all competitive, and I know we have members who are already working on campaigns and/or are doing community service.

An email was sent to all members asking if there was any interest in sitting on an NFRW Committee. Resumes had to be submitted to President Ann Schockett, and I am pleased to announce that Mary Smart is now a member of the Armed Forces Committee (a Special Committee), and I got accepted into the Legislative and Research Committee (“LRC”). The LRC’s 3 main issues are Human Trafficking, School Choice, and the Regulation Freedom Amendment. Very recently, I elected to sit on the Human Trafficking Task Force.

Earlier in the week, the NFRW held a Zoom meeting so participants could learn how to use that program, and it was informational. A Zoom meeting, if recorded by the Secretary, is a legal document. NFRW clubs will be able to hold Zoom meetings if the clubs’ Bylaws allow it. Zoom had problems with hackers getting into meetings, but the company has since then worked to keep that problem from happening. In many meetings, along with a meeting i.d. number, a pin may also be required.  Zoom will automatically provide the i.d. number and pin.

I listened to webinars by Heritage Foundation and Hillsdale College, and both spoke about the pandemic. Some interesting takeaways:

• There are 30 million small businesses. If we open American businesses by Easter, 1 million businesses will be lost. By May 15, it will be 8 percent of businesses lost; by the end of May,15 percent of businesses will go under.
• Suicides are the highest during a great depression.
• We should suspend payment to federal entitlements.
• With the $2.2 trillion economic package, there is a lot of money not having to do with the virus problem. (One good thing is that Pelosi did not get a lot of her “wish list” items.)
• The CDC is overreaching into our lives big time.
• There was a rumor that we must ration gasoline. Untrue, because there is a glut on gas.
• Social distancing is the best step we can take to keep the virus from spreading.

I was also able to watch President Trump’s live newscast regarding opening our country, again; of course, there are protocols in place: Gating, Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3. He mentioned that had we not put in place social distancing, we could have seen 2.5 million lives lost. The link to the White House plan to reopen America is posted.

With Socialism on the rise in this country, I read The Fund for American Studies’ 15-page e-book that was written by Jorge Galicia, a young attorney and Venezuelan asylum seeker. His e-book is “Lessons from Venezuela, Part 1.” This morning, I listened to Mr. Galicia’s webinar, and it was very educational and somber. The country has no water, electricity, or food, their hospitals are a sham, and because medicine is hard to obtain, many citizens are dying. A brief timeline of his country:

• In 1970, the economy was growing and was quite robust.
• In 1975, the oil industry was nationalized by the President; there was a boom in the global oil market, so the government expanded by trying to end poverty with free social programs: free college; free health; and subsidized gasoline.
• In 1978, the global oil market boom ended, but the government continued with its free social programs. Inflation rose to extremely high levels, but most importantly, the culture of dependency had taken hold.
• In 1989, the government tried to cut back on its free social programs because it could no longer afford it, and a huge riot ensued which was the worst Caracas had seen. During this time period, Hugo Chavez came onto the political scene.
• In 1998, while promising the country’s social programs would remain in place, Chavez became the President. To the horror of Venezuela’s citizens, he jailed his political opponents; did away with many free enterprises; changed the constitution; changed the flag; and created his own paramilitary group. Chavez died in 2013, but his communistic regime has not changed under the current President, Nicolas Maduro.

Mr. Galicia said that while the Socialists here in America are not as extreme as his country’s, we still, nonetheless, need to pay attention because if Socialist policies get put into place, the very thing that happened in Venezuela will eventually happen in America. He also had concerns about our national debt, and he reminded us history has proven that countries with huge debt and are unable to pay it on a timely basis, collapse.

A new video has been posted, and I hope you enjoy “Out of Shadows” which is about the media.

While I love webinars and reading good articles regarding issues affecting this country, I need to take a break and let my creative side shine. Hence, I downloaded a game on my phone called, “Design Home.” I can now create my own beautiful rooms whenever I am able. Most importantly, it is very wholesome with no violence, no sexual innuendos, and no foul language or ads with near-nude people. I highly recommend the game to creative teenagers. The cool thing is that once your design is completed, players from across the world get to vote on it, and the result is a score the computer gives you because of the voting. If your score is 4.0 or higher you get a free piece of furniture. What is even more interesting is that the furniture pieces being featured in the game are actual pieces from companies which you can purchase directly from the game.

While I know there is great concern about where this country is heading, I know God will not allow this country to fall into tyrannical hands. Like so many of you, I have great faith in His divine providence. He is and will eternally be our mighty protector. We are, and will always be, faithful stewards of America: her awesome patriots.

Until my next newsletter, please take good care of yourself and your family. May God bless you, protect you, and keep you healthy.
My fondest aloha,

Donna P. Van Osdol

President, Hawaii Federation of Republican Women
Member, Legislative and Research Committee, NFRW
Secretary, Honolulu County Rules Committee
HD36, Rules Committee Delegate
HD36, Platform and Issues Committee Alternate